


the way to a man's heart (is through his stomach)

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, also derek and stiles are in an established relationship because why not, and erica, and so does stiles, because erica is the kirk to his spock, derek pines when stiles is away filming, idk if this even fills jen's prompt, isaac pines too but it's for stiles's food, sjkdfbsf, stiles is the new iron chef
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-19
Updated: 2012-07-19
Packaged: 2017-11-10 06:57:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/463481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He doesn’t wait for a response before he continues down the hall to go to the kitchen, which is probably for the best because Isaac kind of freaks out because fucking hell, Derek isn’t just moping.</p><p>He’s pining.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the way to a man's heart (is through his stomach)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swing_set13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swing_set13/gifts).



> this ran away from me, i'm sorry jen. ; n ;
> 
> ALSO THERE IS LIKE, ISAAC/ERICA BECAUSE I SHIP EVERYTHING AND ERICA IS THE BIG SPOON BECAUSE SHE DOES WHAT SHE WANTS
> 
> DEREK IS PINING
> 
> HE PINES FOR HIS BOYFRIEND

Isaac Lahey doesn’t know too much about cooking, but there’s something about Stiles’s that really makes him want to quit school just so he can live at home and eat Stiles’s cooking every night.

Stiles Stilinski is the Hale pack personal chef, which is to say that he lives in Derek’s house with Derek, Scott and Isaac because his dad had since then married Scott’s mom and he is not living underneath a roof where his dad and Scott’s mom are doing things. It helps that Stiles knows all about what he calls their ‘ _furry little problem’_ , which plays up to werewolf lore because apparently, werewolves really do have a thing for really rare steaks. Stiles's cooking has fed the pack for almost six years. (Which, Stiles totally denies that he is a part of, but everyone knows that he is totally part of their pack.)

But still, Isaac can’t really complain because Stiles’s cooking is seriously divine. He still can’t wrap his head that he went to high school with this guy because seriously, Stiles doesn’t _need_ college. He did graduate top of his class and cooking’s just a side thing until he finds a use for his English degree, but Isaac really hopes that Stiles never finds that use for his English degree because seriously, anyone who has not has Stiles’s lasagna has not lived.

Summer time is Isaac’s favorite time of the year. Up until his sophomore year in high school, he used to hate summers because summers meant being around his dad for the extra eight hours that he wasn’t at school. But now, summer means being around the pack. It means being happy, being around everyone that makes him happy, and it means eating Stiles’s cooking every day for every meal.

As soon as school’s out, Isaac’s out.

Stiles is the one to pick him up and drive Isaac and his things all the way back to Beacon Hills. He’s chattering in that way that soothes Isaac, because while everyone else in the pack—just Jackson, really—thinks Stiles talks too much, Isaac actually likes it. It’s better than the silence his dad used to have after his brother died, and it gives him this warm, fluttering feeling inside his chest. When Stiles talks too much at pack meetings, no one tells him to shut up, not even Jackson, and sometimes Isaac thinks that if Stiles weren’t there to be the mediator, everything would just go to hell.

Stiles talks the two hour ride from Isaac’s college back to Beacon Hills. What about, Isaac isn’t even really sure. He thinks that it’s probably something to do with Erica being adorable again, and really, Stiles is like a proud parent, excited every time his little girl does something new. Which is to say that Stiles doesn’t actually call Erica his ‘little girl’. He calls her ‘Selina’, Erica calls him ‘Bruce’ sometimes, and nobody seems to understand except Stiles, Erica, Scott, and surprisingly, Derek.

“Isaac,” Stiles says hesitantly as they turn onto the road that will lead to the Hale house where Derek, Scott, Isaac and Stiles live. (See, how is Stiles not a part of the pack is he _lives_ in the house with the freaking Alpha?)

“Yeah?” Isaac chirps, already envisioning Stiles’s lasagna for dinner that night to welcome all of the members of the pack that are in graduate school (aka Isaac, Danny, and Lydia) home.

Stiles is quiet for a second, and that actually kind of worries Isaac because he has this theory where Stiles just likes the sound of his own voice and that’s why he babbles. “I, um,” Stiles begins awkwardly. “I may have…gotten a job.”

If Isaac were driving, he would have slammed his foot down on the brakes. It’s so good that Stiles is the one driving. As it is, Isaac is just freaking out a little bit internally. He’s not going to be unsupportive when Stiles risked his relationship with his dad way back in high school just to help the pack out. He refuses to be unsupportive because Stiles is the one that listened when Derek wouldn’t, when Scott refused to.

“What kind of job?” Isaac finds himself asking.

“Um, I’m kind of the new Iron Chef. The network wanted me to do a show where I cook for people but then they were afraid my talking would annoy them.” Stiles says, seeming relieved that Isaac seems cool with it. “You guys can get along without me for lunch and maybe dinner, right?”

 _‘No,’_ Isaac wants to shout, ‘ _No we can’t because you’re Stiles and your food is so perfect that sometimes I just want to cry.’_

What Isaac says instead is, “Sure, yeah.” Then he blinks because, “Wait, isn’t filming in LA? And isn’t LA like, eight hours from here?”

Stiles hears the unspoken, ‘ _But you have a job here. It’s called cooking delicious food.’_ and answers accordingly, “Derek’s agreed that it’s really time that I stop stuffing food in your mouths every time you guys come home, and he supports this. And I’m only going to be gone for three days at a time.”

Okay, fuck this. Isaac is totally having the crappiest summer ever.

At least Erica can sort of cook. There’s a reason why she and Stiles spend so much time together outside of the usual disturbing best-friend-sibling thing they have going on; Stiles has been teaching her some of his simpler dishes.

“Erica’s coming along to keep me company in case Jessie breaks down on the road.” Stiles finishes cheerfully.

Isaac does not slam his head against the dashboard a couple of times.

-

It’s Stiles’s first day shooting tomorrow, so he and Erica are packing their suitcases to stay with her aunts in Los Angeles.

Isaac is definitely not holding onto Erica longer than he should when she and Stiles hug everyone good bye. The challenger has already decided on Stiles beforehand, so they’re hoping and wishing for Stiles to good luck on his first win.

“Don’t go.” Isaac whines in Erica’s ear. “You’re the only one that knows how to make The Lasagna besides Stiles.”

That lasagna deserves capital letters.

“Oh don’t be such a baby, Isaac.” Erica huffs back, before pulling away and slapping at his hand when he reaches for her imploringly. “We’re going to be back before you know it.”

Isaac wants to cry because he knows that it will seem an eternity. He doesn’t care what Erica says; he’s had Derek’s cooking.

-

Isaac is almost crying when Derek cooks dinner that night.

“I don’t want your lasagna! It’s nothing like Stiles’s!” He shouts almost tearfully. It’s stupid, he knows, and though Derek scares the _shit_ out of him, he misses Stiles’s cooking (and Stiles) too much to really care about how his Alpha is probably three seconds away from slamming him up against a door and—wait, no, that’s still Stiles’s role.

“You think I don’t know that?” Derek snaps.

Scott’s leaping up from his chair, all set to at least _try_ and stop Derek, and Isaac’s eyes are closed tightly, like he can’t bear to open them.

But to everyone’s surprise, Derek doesn’t do anything; He just slams his cup down on the table so hard that everyone’s surprised it doesn’t break, and then he walks out of the room.

Isaac is distraught, because Derek _never_ reacts like that, and he feels bad that he made Derek feel bad.

Lydia has a napkin in her hand, and she’s careful not to touch the cup that Derek abandoned with her bare hands so her scent won’t be all over it. She’s frowning at it for a second before her face lights up in recognition, “Hey guys? Check this out.”

She holds up the cup.

“What is it?” Boyd asks, which is pretty much what they’re all thinking.

Lydia’s smile is softer than any that the rest of the pack have ever seen on her when she speaks, “It’s Stiles’s.”

-

Isaac swears that Derek is actually _moping_.

Nobody in the pack has seen him since yesterday evening, when he stomped out of the room, and honestly, after dinner, everyone fled as soon as Jackson and Danny did the dishes. Isaac and Scott were the only ones who didn’t leave because hey, they live there, which is just their luck. Isaac spent the last five hours before bed completely freaking out and hoping that Derek would just stay in whatever hole he had apparently crawled into until Derek just calmed down and stopped moping like a lovestruck teen.

On his way to the kitchen, where he plans to microwave some TV dinner for breakfast, Isaac pauses in the hallway when he sees Derek come out of Stiles’s room.

Derek halts in his tracks when he spots Isaac, and the two of them are frozen mid-step as they stare at one another. Isaac’s eyes flick from the black t-shirt that Derek is wearing to Derek’s face because that shirt is _way_ too tight to actually be Derek’s. This may be the most awkward moment Isaac has ever shared with anyone, bar that one time he walked in on Erica and Stiles cuddling while reading comic books and Erica’s eyes bugged like he caught her doing something untoward.

Derek’s mouth opens, and then closes. Both of them are silent for a few more seconds before Derek finally speaks, “This,” He gestures from himself to Stiles’s door, “never happened.”

He doesn’t wait for a response before he continues down the hall to go to the kitchen, which is probably for the best because Isaac kind of freaks out because _fucking hell_ , Derek isn’t just moping.

He’s pining.

_For Stiles._

_-_

That night, Isaac learns that there is indeed something worse than Derek’s cooking; it’s Lydia’s.

But Lydia terrifies all of them, so Isaac eats it without complaint.

Derek, he notices, pulls out a container from the fridge with a post-it note with his name on it and microwaves it. Isaac instantly smells Stiles’s special stew and makes a low, whining sound at the back of his throat, but he backs off when Derek looks up at him briefly from the stew.

For the first time in a while, Isaac allows himself a smile because Derek is in _love_ —he is totally in love with Stiles—and Stiles will be back tomorrow anyway.

-

Stiles is not back tomorrow.

Isaac knows because Erica sends him a text from LA, saying, _we’re staying another couple of days because the studio wants stiles to shoot another three episodes for the month_

He returns with, _I thought you loved me. But you don’t because you are a liar and if you loved me, both of you would be back today._

_He’s pining, Isaac. Do you have any idea what he’s like when he’s pining?_

_Can’t be worse than Derek,_ because really, Derek is on the phone with someone and Isaac would totally be able to eavesdrop if he wants because, hello, _werewolf_ , but he’s kind of busy right now.

 _I think they’re pining at each other,_ Erica’s text says, _Stiles is all quiet now._

Isaac frowns, and then looks up from his phone to focus. When he does, he can hear Derek from the backyard, saying in a tone that Isaac has honestly never heard him us, “I miss you.”

Isaac’s phone buzzes and when he looks at Erica’s new text, he has to smile because her capitalization has deteriorated in her excitement.

_omgg ‘i miss you too, sourwolf. don’t be too hard on the pack. did you eat the stew i made for you? i’ll be back on sunday. i love you.’ can they GET any more like my parents? well, not mine because mine suck, but they sound like adorable parents._

If he’s honest with himself, Derek isn’t the only one pining.

He kind of misses Erica. She’s scary and stuff, but she’s also strong and beautiful and intelligent and…Isaac’s minutes away from waxing poetry about her smile.

…He’s cool with that.

 _Let’s go out to eat when you get back,_ Isaac suggests, because he is not emotionally constipated like everyone else in the pack (except for Danny because Danny is perfect.)

_Just the two of us?_

_I’ll take you to that Italian restaurant you like,_ Isaac offers.

He can almost imagine her laughing in that way that she does when she’s not hung up on something, carefree and relaxed.

_Deal and hey, if this works out, you can’t be Bruce Wayne to my Selina Kyle, but you can be Steve Rogers to my Tony Stark._

Isaac laughs because, wow. How could he not have seen it before? But he doesn’t want Erica to be Tony because Tony has an arc reactor in his chest right now, and the thing that’s keeping him alive is killing him, and Isaac doesn’t want that to happen to Erica because Erica is important to him.

 _I’d rather be the Spock to your Kirk,_ Isaac suggests.

_That can also work. omg stiles is teasing Derek about using his mug they are so cute_

Isaac’s ear twitches and he can hear Derek insist, “I am not pining.”

He is so pining.

-

Stiles comes back on Sunday, as planned. Everybody knows not to mention anything when Derek is suddenly a lot more cheerful. Of course, it’s kind of indistinguishable from his normal moods, so maybe Isaac’s the only one that notices.

Isaac startles everyone when he borrows Derek’s Camaro to take Erica out that night, but that’s mostly from him being the one to complain all week about not being able to eat food made by Stiles and not actually from the fact that he and Erica are going out on a date.

-

A couple of weeks later, the entire pack is curled up in front of the television at Derek’s while said Alpha and his boyfriend (wow, seriously, they were _really_ good at hiding that) were on a date. Everyone’s chatting and Danny and Jackson are arguing about something sports-related but then Lydia yells for everyone to shut up when the opening sequence to Iron Chef America plays.

The next hour is spent watching Stiles run around Kitchen Stadium like the spaz that he is, barking orders to his sous-chefs with a surprisingly commanding tone. The secret ingredient is starfruit, which doesn’t seem to faze Stiles at all. There’s a dish with Starfruit-flavored ice cream and a Starfruit drink, but Isaac honestly doesn’t know enough about cooking to actually tell someone what the other dishes he made were.

“That’s a sort of dumpling with a starfruit and ground beef filling; it sounds weird, but it was actually really good,” Erica murmurs quietly as she pulls Isaac to sit between her legs so she can wrap her arms around his waist and prop her chin onto his shoulder.

“No, no!” Jackson hollers at the television, “Stilinski, what are you doing!”

Lydia stares at the screen with a critical eye, “Erica, did Stiles have to wear make-up to shoot this?”

“Oh Stiles,” Allison mumbles, throwing her hands to shield her eyes. “It’s burning. Your food is burning.”

Scott looks at Lydia incredulously, “Why would he wear make-up to shoot this?”

“Freaking Mikayla,” Danny mutters, glaring darkly at the sous-chef that is utterly failing with the ice-cream machine.

“I know, right?” Boyd agrees with Danny. His eyes are flashing gold as he too, glares at the petite woman cursing at the ice-cream machine so much that they’ve just silenced her instead of censoring her words.

Isaac is alarmed because seriously, is Stiles’s pan supposed to be on fire?

Erica can sense his discomfort, because she briefly squeezes at his side with one hand, “Hey, it’s okay. He’s doing it on purpose.”

That seems to calm everyone down, but then everyone freaks the fuck out again when the front door opens and Stiles and Derek are stumbling through the door, Stiles grabbing at the lapel of Derek’s leather jacket like his life depends on it, and damn, don’t they need to breathe?

Everyone is staring at them, Stiles’s Iron Chef debut forgotten as they watch Derek and Stiles make out. Because they are way too interested in the love lives of their stoic Alpha and his hyperactive boyfriend.

“Don’t stop,” Erica says when Stiles breaks off the kiss and then almost jumps away from Derek when he realizes that the whole pack is watching them, “That’s so much more interesting. We should be a television show, all of us.”

Boyd nods, “We could call ourselves _Pack_ ,” He makes jazz hands, “Like _Friends.”_

Derek snorts, “I think one television star’s enough for this pack, don’t you?”

Stiles is staring at Derek with a scrutinizing look, “Wait, so am I Monica? Because you know, I cook for everyone and no one appreciates me and Isaac is totally my Ross because Erica’s his Rachel. Duh.”

“No,” Erica chirps from the couch, nudging Isaac’s cheek with the top of her head, “I’m his James Kirk.”

“I’ll totally be your Ross if you make me some pasta,” Isaac offers.

Because he can totally handle being the weird museum guy with the commitment issues if Stiles’ll make him pasta.


End file.
